Saving our Sugar Maples: searching for tough survivors to clone

Abstract

Have you noticed the poor condition of sugar maples in towns and cities and along Ontario’s roadsides? Many have dead limbs. For some, half the tree is gone. Why? You may hear some saying they are simply old trees that have lived their best days. Well, the truth is that most roadside sugar maples are only about 80 to 90 years-old, which isn’t old for this species. Healthy sugar maples can live 300, some say even 500 years.